The present invention relates to processes for production of a fermentation product from milled starch-containing material, such as granular starch, at a temperature below the initial gelatinization temperature of the milled starch-containing material.
Grains, cereals or tubers of plants contain starch. The starch is in the form of microscopic granules, which are insoluble in water at room temperature. When an aqueous starch slurry is heated, the granules swell and eventually burst, dispersing the starch molecules into the solution. During this “gelatinization” process, there is a dramatic increase in viscosity. Because the solids level in a typical industrial process is around 30-40%, the starch has to be thinned or “liquefied” so that it can be handled. This reduction in viscosity is generally accomplished by enzymatic degradation in a process referred to as liquefaction. During liquefaction, the long-chained starch is degraded into smaller branched and linear chains of glucose units (dextrins) by an alpha-amylase.
A conventional enzymatic liquefaction process may be carried out as a three-step hot slurry process. The slurry is heated to between 80-85° C. and thermostable alpha-amylase added to initiate liquefaction. The slurry is then jet-cooked at a temperature between 105-125° C. to complete gelatinization of the slurry, cooled to 60-95° C. and, generally, additional alpha-amylase is added to finalize hydrolysis. The liquefaction process is generally carried out at pH between 5 and 6.
During saccharification, the dextrins from the liquefaction are further hydrolyzed to produce low molecular sugars DP1-3 that can be metabolized by a fermenting organism, such as yeast. The hydrolysis is typically accomplished using glucoamylase, alternatively or in addition to glucoamylases, alpha-glucosidases and/or acid alpha-amylases can be used. A full saccharification step typically lasts up to 72 hours, however, it is common to do a pre-saccharification of, e.g., 40-90 minutes at a temperature above 50° C., followed by a complete saccharification during fermentation in a process known as simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF).
Fermentation is performed using a fermenting organism, such as yeast, which is added to the mash. Then the fermentation product is recovered. For ethanol, e.g., fuel, potable, or industrial ethanol, the fermentation is carried out, for typically 35-60 hours at a temperature of typically around 32° C. When the fermentation product is beer, the fermentation is carried out, for typically up to 8 days at a temperature of typically around 14° C.
Following fermentation, the mash may be used, e g., as a beer, or distilled to recover ethanol. The ethanol may be used as, e.g., fuel ethanol, drinking ethanol, and/or industrial ethanol.
It will be apparent from the above discussion that the starch hydrolysis in a conventional process is very energy consuming due to the different temperature requirements during the various steps. Several patent applications address the issue by providing processes for converting granular starch into ethanol without the energy consuming gelatinisation step.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,316,956 and WO 2004/113551 provide fermentation processes for conversion of granular starch into ethanol.
The applications WO 2005/003311 and PCT/US05/46725 provide fungal alpha-amylases useful for conversion of granular starch into fermentable sugars, e.g., for ethanol production.
The application PCT/DK2005/000819 provides bacterial alpha-amylases useful for conversion of granular starch into fermentable sugars, e.g., for ethanol production.
The object of the present invention is to provide improved processes for conversion of milled starch-containing material, such as granular starch.